Redline Puffer (Tetraodon Erythrotaenia)

[Fizzifish]

I have just bought a couple of these little fellas which were being kept in fresh water. I understand from doing some research on the net that they are a brackish water species. Unfortunately I could not find a website that gives any detail about how to keep them, their life cycle etc. I am currently housing them in fresh water, the same as the fish store. Also, why are they called Redline Puffers, at the moment they have no red line, just a very faint yellow line. They are approximately 2" in length. Any help with these puffers would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Fizzifish]

Perhaps I should have mentioned that I am a fairly experienced Puffer keeper, with 3 species puffer tanks. I have a marine tank with two 3" Green Spotted Puffers and a freshwater tank with two Figure of Eight Puffers. I keep the Figure of Eights and my new Redlines in species tanks with white sand and half a dozen freshwater flounders which I find are excellent tank mates. They both eat the same food and neither bothers the other.

[marksrush]

Welcome to the forum!

Maybe you've seen these pages before, but if you haven't, check these out: ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/T_Erythrotaenia/ and http://fishprofiles.com/profiles/marine ... hrotaenia/. You're right, there is not much out there, but I did find at least a little useful info.

Transitioning to brackish from fresh is not really all that difficult. Basically, you get a hydrometer (Instant Ocean makes a cheap one that will work well enough) so you can measure how salty your water is, some marine salt (Instant Ocean makes that, too), and maybe some crushed coral or aragonite for the substrate to help get and keep your pH where it needs to be. When you do water changes, replace the water you take out with weak saltwater, not to exceed a change in your tank of more than .002 specific gravity per week. You'll just have to develop a "feel" for how much marine salt to mix into the water in order to get the specific gravity you're shooting for, but I think about a cup of salt in five gallons of water should be good to start with if you're using it for water changes...provided this is not a five gallon tank they're in. I am thinking more like 5 gallons out of a 55 gallon tank, once a week. There is a lot of info in this site's Brackish Puffers and Brackish Tanks parts of our forum which will help you a great deal, guaranteed. You can also look up your various puffers in the PufferPedia on this site to check their requirements etc.

[pufferpuggirl]

Hi, I've got a couple of Red-Line puffers and the reason they are called this is because the male has a thin red line going down his side laterally, but when they are frightened or don't feel safe, you won't really see this line. My male is just starting to show his.

One thing I would say about these puffers, they can jump vertically straight up, like a shot! My female was shooting herself out each time I went to clean and/or feed them, so I had to put tape at the corners so she can't do that anymore.

I am currently keeping mine in brackish water, but they were kept in fresh when I first got them. So I took it slowly because I started the tank out being freshwater, as I only had a mature filter in freshwater.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will try to help.

[Corvus]

How'd you come to the conclusion that one was male and the other female?

[pufferpuggirl]

Because there's a definite difference between them as shown in the 'Aqualog' book, which I always refer to when I go to buy new species that I've never had before. It's my Puffer bible.

[Corvus]

I've already wondered how the authors of the Aqualog book came to the conclusion, which one's the male and which one the female.

I was hoping you had seen eggs, which would have been adefinite proof.

[pufferpuggirl]

Well, it seems to me, with puffers, that the males tend to be the prettier ones, so if that theory holds true, then it's a little easier to identify the males from the females -- not that that is fool-proof. And I like my Aqualog book and so far, it's the best information I've found on puffers.

Just thinking, even if I had seen eggs, how would I know which puffer had laid them? I am sure I have a male and a female, but as to whether I'm right about who's who, well again, I'm just trusting my Aqualog book.

[Corvus]

You certainly would have seen which one has become fat and suddenly thin again when the eggs appeared.

And just because something is written in a book, does not mean it's right. The scientific sources given in the book for this species as far as I remember do not indicate any detail on how to identify the genders.

[dlowis]

What's the salinity you keep yours at.